Craving Olive Garden’s iconic Minestrone Soup? Now you can enjoy a piping hot bowl at home anytime with this simple copycat recipe! Bursting with fresh vegetables, tender pasta, and a savory tomato broth, it’s a nourishing meal that will satisfy your whole family. Additionally, this recipe yields a large batch, making it ideal for meal-prepping lunches or dinners throughout the week. Let’s dive into what makes this soup so irresistible!
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Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Recipe
Everyone loves minestrone, and this copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup recipe is straightforward to make at home – it doesn’t require much effort.
Just let everything simmer away, and dinner is served! Additionally, this is a great soup to satisfy your cravings at any time of the year. A light soup for summer or a steaming hot bowl on a cold day. It doesn’t hurt that this soup is tasty and very colorful!
The flavors smell so wonderful while it’s cooking. If you have kids, you’ll receive a What smells so good? When they rush in from school.
Why try this version of the Olive Garden’s Minestrone Soup?
The key to this copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup recipe is building layers of flavor with each step. Sautéing the aromatic veggies creates a solid foundation, while the tomato paste intensifies the broth. Canned and fresh veggies strike the perfect tender-crisp balance, and the blend of beans adds creamy body and pleasant texture contrasts. A scoop of pasta makes each bite satisfying, transforming the soup
Minestrone soup ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this copycat Olive Garden minestrone recipe:
Please click on the recipe card to get the full recipe.
- Olive oil – Heart-healthy base for sautéing veggies
- White onion – Provides a sweet, aromatic flavor foundation
- Celery – Adds delicate texture and vegetal notes
- Carrots – Lend mild sweetness and vibrant color
- Zucchini – Delivers tender texture and fresh flavor
- Fresh garlic – Infuses soup with pungent depth
- Canned diced tomatoes – Form a robust, acidic backdrop for broth
- Vegetable stock – Creates a flavorful, plant-based foundation
- Bay leaf – Lends a subtle, earthy, herbal aroma
- Italian seasoning – Signature blend of herbs for classic flavor
- Tomato paste – Concentrates and thickensthe tomato presence
- Canned small white beans (cannellini) – Buttery texture and mild taste
- Canned kidney beans – Creamy, starchy texture and striking color
- Fresh or frozen green beans – Provide snappy texture and grassy flavor
- Small shell pasta – Perfect shape and size for spoonable bites
- Fresh parsley – Vibrant, peppery garnish to finish the soup
Chef’s Note: Cut vegetables uniformly for even cooking
How to make Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
Here are the simple steps for preparing the soup:
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium to medium-high heat.
- Add onions, celery, carrots, zucchini, garlic, and salt.
- Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the vegetables turn color and soften.
- Add canned tomatoes, vegetable broth, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Stir to combine everything.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the heat down to low to simmer the soup.
- Add white beans, kidney beans, green beans, zucchini, and pasta.
- Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the pasta and vegetables are tender.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Garnish with parsley if desired. Or you can sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top.
Recipe Notes and Tips
Here are a few tips for making this soup:
- Try to cut all the veggies more or less the same size so that they cook at the same rate.
- You can use fresh or frozen green beans, whichever you prefer.
- It’s ok to change the veggies depending on what you have on hand or what’s in season. Other great veggie options are russet potatoes, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, leeks, kale.
- To get rid of all that extra sodium, drain and rinse your canned beans before adding them to the soup.
- This vegan soup is hearty enough to serve as a main course, but if you’d like more protein, add some pieces of cooked Italian sausage or chicken. You can make up a big pot of this tasty soup beforehand.
- You can freeze this soup, but remember that the pasta and vegetables may be a little softer after thawing and reheating.
Please feel free to send me a comment on this soup. I always want to hear from my readers. And, be sure to take a look at more copycat Olive Garden soup recipes.
Storage Instructions and reheating instructions for leftover minestrone
Note: Pasta & veggies may soften slightly when frozen & reheated.
- Fridge: Cool completely, store in airtight containers up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Cool completely, transfer to bags or containers. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw fully before reheating.
- Reheat: Warm gently over low to medium-low, stirring often. Add broth/water if needed.
What can you serve with Olive Garden Minestrone soup?
I recommend some homemade hot bread or salad with this soup. Why not try the Olive Garden Salad Dressing or some Homemade Olive Garden Breadsticks?
Best Minestrone Soup Recipe
If you are anything like me, you will be dipping into this pot of soup before it has even finished cooking. You will be breathing in the enticing aroma and won’t be able to resist.
Add a sprinkling of parmesan and some warm, crusty bread, and you’ll have a quick dinner that everyone will love.
Try these great Olive Garden copycat recipes!
- Shrimp Alfredo
- Gorgonzola Alfredo
- Fried Mozzarella
- Olive Garden Cheese Ravioli
- Crispy Chicken Fritta
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Olive Garden Italian Dressing Recipe
- Shrimp Caprese
- Olive Garden Cheesecake – Pumpkin
- Peaches and Cream Cheesecake
More Soup Recipes
Make garlic parmesan hot wings as an appetizer to enjoy before the soup. The soup also goes well with this shrimp taco recipe.
Check out more copycat favorites and the best restaurant soup recipes.
Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup white onion diced
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 1/2 cup carrots peeled, diced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 14 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 32 ounces vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 15 ounces canned small white beans drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces canned kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen green beans You can use fresh
- 1/2 cup small shell shaped pasta
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.
- When oil is hot add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic. Add a pinch of salt to help the vegetables sweat. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the vegetables turn color and soften.
- Add canned tomatoes, vegetable broth, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf to the pot. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer.
- Add white beans, kidney beans, green beans, zucchini, and pasta. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the pasta and vegetables are tender.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- If desired, garnish with parsley.
Video
Notes
- You can use roasted diced tomatoes for a fun flavor.
- Consider using yellow squash instead of zucchini.
- Add more fresh vegetables if desired.
- If you have left over vegetables in your refrigerator consider adding them to this recipe. It’s a great way to use up left overs. (My Grandmother would call this soup “Got to Go Soup.”
minestrone soup yesterday toseniors on trip was absolutely not good
I love this soup.
This recipe is very close to one of my own. IT’s Delish!
Fabulous! I added a lb of ground chicken (browned) for more protein and used 1-1/2 cups ditalini pasta instead of shells. Served with parmesan cheese on top. This was a huge hit and perfect comfort food on a chilly day!
Olive gardens minestrone soup has mushy vegetables
You never know who cooks it
It is not brought in
Had 1 hood soup there all yr
We always have to say watch the salt
My whole family loved this soup. I will make a double batch next time.
Thank you, I really liked it.
I have made this copycat recipe many times. It is fabulous. I add a rind of parmesan to the brewing soup to add more of that flavor, I keep rinds from the cheese in the freezer for this precise use. I highly recommend this recipe.
Delicious recipe. I added a chopped jalapeno and a bit of crushed red pepper and chopped fresh tomatoes that I had on hand.
Very tasty soup!
Thank You for all your recipes I’ve made a lot of them at home for my family. Your Minestrone Soup was the first recipe I tried, I was hooked! Just started to track my caloric intake on an app and was wondering if you happen to know what a serving size is? I understand you did give the amount of servings per but it would really help to know the size of the serving .
Thank You
I am sorry I haven’t portioned out the recipe by cups, for me to do it accurately, I need to make the recipe and portion it out by exact serving sizes.
Looks like someone else copied a lot (!) of your narrative remarks and descriptions. (link removed)
Writing for the web is complicated, and it tends to mean we mimic what we believe brings folks. This recipe has been on my website since the mid 90s. I see a lot of my recipes slightly modified all over the web.
Added a little more tomato paste and substituted potatoes for pasta. Delicious! Good way to use up veggies.
Brilliant idea!
This makes a large batch of soup. It’s super tasty too!